Would you use a remote-controlled contraceptive chip?

By Drum Digital

24 July 2014

By 2018 women may be able to purchase a remote-controlled microchip contraceptive. What makes this chip different from the one introduced in South Africa earlier this year is that this one doesn’t need to be removed in order for a woman to be able to conceive again. It can simply be “switched off” via remote control.

By 2018 women may be able to purchase a remote-controlled microchip contraceptive. What makes this chip different from the one introduced in South Africa early this year is that this one doesn’t need to be removed in order for a woman to be able to conceive again. It can simply be “switched off” via remote control.

According to Sky News, the chip will be controlled via remote which can be used to switch it off for the duration a woman would like to conceive. Once this time period is over she can switch it on again.

Whereas the South African chip is said to last up to three years, this one is said to last for up to 16 years but is still to undergo clinical testing from 2016.

The team researching this chip are from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US and their pre-clinical trials will be backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.